For the first time in modern history, we are a significant transgenerational culture. From music to food, teens to octogenarians, it's not about the decade you grew up in but the quality and staying power of the experience.
In other words, Pandora doesn't have an algorithm for a unique life.
"The kids today like our music," said Jim Otto, owner of the landmark Laguna Beach record store, Sound Spectrum. "Our music now is ultra-cool, even more cool than we thought it was at the time."
And by "our music" Otto is not only referring to the classic '60s or '70s rock, but to the crossover music that appeals to independent audiences looking for originality.
Otto gave the example of the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and highlighted the comparisons to today's Coachella. The three-day Monterey festival was the first of its kind and established the blueprint for subsequent festivals.
Among many other artists, the Monterey lineup included Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding and Ravi Shankar (rock, soul and Eastern). An astounding 45 years later, Coachella fits this same model, attracting everything from hard rock to reggae to dubstep.
The reason this diverse approach works is simple: People want a legendary experience.
"Music hits on a subdermal level," said Otto, who firmly believes in the transformational power of hands-on music.
"With digital, people don't have anything to hold. It's all bits and an overload of information," he said. "Plus, with records people can listen to songs in the order that they were intended."
Last Saturday was Record Store Day, the international event that is like Christmas in April for record stores.
For fun, Otto sometimes plays music in the store that he believes will resonate with certain customers, based solely on their appearance or window-shopping habits.
He will watch with amusement as they start to move and bob, then walk up to the counter asking, "Who is this?"
